Staff at Aberystwyth University Facing Redundancy

Aberystwyth University is looking to make savings of £11.4m by April 2019 after facing increasing competition for students.

Staff at the university are facing job losses as the institution looks to make substantial savings, which the university has attributed to increased competition for students, rising costs and uncertainty in relation to the outcome of Brexit.

The university has met with unions and reports suggest up to 150 jobs could be at risk.

Based on the university's projected budget deficit, the institution needs to make savings of £6m in 2017-18 and £5.4m in 2018-19. Under current plans no university departments would need to close, and it's hoped they can avoid the need for compulsory redundancies.

In response, the university has opened a voluntary severance and early retirement scheme. A university statement said: "Over the coming months, we will focus our efforts on working with staff, partners and the community to secure a sustainable financial foundation on which we can build a prosperous long-term future for our historic university."

The trade union, Unison, have suggested redundancies will negatively impact the local and regional economy, with the university being a major employer in the area.

Jeff Baker, from Unison, said of the decision: "This is a result of a series of poor decisions taken by senior management over a number of years, the drop in student applicants from the UK and abroad, and the fact that more potential students are opting to stay at home."